Fabio Quartararo will start the Misano MotoGP from third on the grid after losing out to both factory Ducati riders.
Quartararo did everything in his power to challenge the Ducati of Bagnaia who ultimately claimed pole.
In fact, Quartararo was on provisional pole after the opening run – just like in Aragon, but as the session headed into the final stages Bagnaia put in a sensational new lap record – three tenths better off than the current series leader.
We won’t know how close or if Quartararo could have actually challenged the home favorite with his final lap of Q2 as the Yamaha man crashed at turn one.
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“This is the fourth qualifying I’ve made on this track in MotoGP and I’m always in the third position,” said Quartararo in the post qualifying press conference.
“But I think we have made a great job. On the last lap I just tried a little bit too much.
“We checked the data and I braked way too late, but this is what I wanted to do and it was great to also feel that limit on the front.”
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Despite the fall, Quartararo seemed to make a step forward in terms of race pace in FP4, so much so that he could potentially challenge Bagnaia during the race which wasn’t necessarily expected given Friday’s running.
Something else to keep an eye on for the race will be the tire decision as both Bagnaia and Jack Miller (P2) did the entirety of FP4 on a used soft rear, while Quartararo did similar lap times to Bagnaia on a medium rear.
Quartararo added: “I’m so happy about the pace I had in FP4. I made (the session) with the medium but I felt this morning great with the soft. I like both tires.
“It’s true that when we look at my pace with the medium it’s good, but it’s not 100% clear for us.
“We will check the data and see which tire to use tomorrow. At the moment it’s between the soft and medium.
“In the second run we made a small change on the bike and I was able to improve with used tyres. Looking forward to trying this setup with the new tyre.”